works » vocal
Bits torn from words
for 8 voices
Commissioned by the American Composers Forum ACF | Connect Program for Roomful of Teeth’s 10th anniversary
Year Composed: 2019-22, rev. 2023
Duration: 0:25:00
Recorded on Rough Magic by Roomful of Teeth; Released by New Amsterdam Records on May 5, 2023
Movements:
I. Reach across oceans (intro)
II. Flow (refrain)
III. Notice how your body spreads like water (post-refrain)
IV. GaNaDaRaMaBaSaAJaChaKaTaPaHa (bridge)
V. Reach across oceans (reprise)
VI. If __________ did happen, how bad would it be? (outro)
Thoughts on the work:
Bits torn from words examines the mental health condition of generalized anxiety disorder – how the dread of even the most inconsequential circumstances feels gargantuanly out of proportion to its relative impact. In expanded song form, voices traverse through wavering pitches, surrendered exclamations, and quivering breaths, all conveying the vivid manifestations of anxiety in the body and psyche. The title comes from the opening pages of Dictee (1982) by the pioneering Korean American conceptual artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951-82). Through intricate diagrams and vivid prose, Cha illustrates the visceral phenomenology of vocalization, and the yearning to say and be heard.
In the first movement, Reach across oceans (intro), a soloist desperately wails into the expanse in an attempt to reach another. Evoking p’ansori, this Korean vocal tradition nearly requires damage to the vocal cords in such a way to produce a uniquely raw and soul-wrenching intensity. In the second movement, I’m terrible at making decisions (refrain), the mental fatigue of facing infinite options is expressed through a repetitive torrent of utterances. The third movement, Notice how your body spreads like water (post-refrain), comes from Yoga nidra, a guided meditation practice for the purposes of sleep and relieving stress which often helps me to find a place allowing the ability to rest. The fourth movement, GaNaDaRaMaBaSa AJaChaKaTaPaHa (bridge), concentrates on the 14 consonants of the Korean alphabet, the very roots and building blocks of the language through aspirated articulations layered in chained suspensions. From here, the beginning of the piece returns in this fifth movement, embracing our coexistence with the natural ebb and flow of anxiety in our consciousness.
Finally, the last movement poses the question: “If __________ did happen, how bad would it be?” Taken from a worksheet from my therapist on disputing irrational anxieties, the question serves as a space for introspection and mindfulness, to be more compassionate with ourselves, to comfort and to nourish. If it doesn’t go perfectly, if it doesn’t pan out, and so on and so forth… how bad would it be?
Text:
I. Reach across oceans (intro)
i’m happy
i’m happy
i’m happy
i’m happy to go with the—
II. I’m terrible at making decisions (refrain)
flow
the flow
i’m happy to go with the flow
i’m happy to go with
the flow
is that okay with (x4)
You?
flow
flow
is that okay with You?
is that oh u oh u okay okay is that oh
oh is that oh oh
oh is that oh oh
oh is that oh u oh u u u
flow
with You? (x14)
III. Notice how your body spreads like water (post-refrain)
오우
어음
오우아이
오우아이예
오우아이예아오우
오우아이예
이야
이야아이
아애아오아애아오
이야아
이야오아이야
이야아이
이야아애이야
어음음
어음
음
음
IV. GaNaDaRaMaBaSa AJaChaKaTaPaHa (bridge)
가
나
다
라
마
바
사
아
자
차
카
타
파
하
가나다라마바사아자차카타파하
V. Reach across oceans (reprise)
i’m happy
i’m happy
i’m happy
i’m happy to go with the—
flow
the flow
i’m happy to go with the flow
i’m happy to go with
the flow
is that okay with (x4)
You?
with You?
with You?
with You?
is that okay with You?
VI. If __________ did happen, how bad would it be? (outro)
…how bad would it be?
…how bad would it be? (...would it be?)
…how bad…?
Reviews:
“Premiere recordings of four works appear, each fascinating in its own right and collectively a stunning portrait….The arrestingly titled “GaNaDaRaMaBaSa AJaChaKaTaPaHa (bridge)” focuses on the fourteen consonants of the Korean alphabet, voices building here into rippling, oscillating waves, after which the work concludes with a stirring polyphony of supplicating voices.”
— Textura
“Eventually, the wavering motif slowed to distinct pitches that formed a cohesive melody rather than quivering on a single pitch as the text asked, “If ____ did happen, how bad would it be?” Bits Torn From Words displayed Shin’s exceptional ability to develop a simple musical idea through a conceptual yet personal narrative.”
“Peter S. Shin’s Bits Torn From Words is simply stunning, a brilliant and vivid painting of the mental health condition of generalized anxiety disorder, painfully manifested with tentative, wavering, quivering and passionate lyrics….The movement Reach Across Oceans was my favourite track of the album.”
“…a wonderful piece, starting with singers sounding as if they’re vocalizing into a cave that has a very long echo time and evolving into vocal lines that simultaneously undulated and ricocheted in a mixture unlike anything I’ve heard.”